


Heart of Ice

by LineArnemo



Category: Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Brave (2012) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Frozen (2013) Fusion, Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, Elsa (Frozen) & Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians) Friendship, F/M, Frozen (2013) References, Frozen Heart, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Dragons, Inspired by Frozen (2013), Minor Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Merida (Brave), Queen Elsa, Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, Rise of the Guardians Cameos, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-13 08:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5701564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LineArnemo/pseuds/LineArnemo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hello, Elsa" He smiles "It has been a long time" The man invites me to take a sit. I obey, mostly because I have no other option.<br/>"We used to play as childs" I politically aswer. He smiles.<br/>"I wasn´t sure you would remember it"<br/>"I was not sure you would remember me either, Hiccup" My voice trembles a little "But I need your help"<br/>War had change him. I am almost sure, it changed me also.<br/>"I missed you. We all did. You disappeared"<br/>"Well...I am back"<br/>"Will you help us?" he questions, with hope in his eyes. So many years, and yet I can still read him as easy as an open book "Will you stay with us?"<br/>And I smile, with sadness.<br/>"I have no-where to go"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. BEFORE THE WAR

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Jelsa/ Mericcup fanfiction, independently of what the summary suggest!!

**Prologue:**  
**BEFORE THE WAR.**

 

_there is peace._   
_Yet peace is so easily broken._   
_._   
_And there is always a spark._   
_That can change it all._

_..._


	2. Wrong Answer

_I am running._  
I am running so fast my chest is nearly fading out.  
But I can´t stop.  
They are near, I can almost fell their corporeal heat close to my back. But they can´t chase me.  
I was locked in a room for ages. I had quite a time to plan this day.  
The day I would be free.  
“Your Majesty, wait!” an officer says, voice breaking the sound of the air against the trees “Your majesty, please-” he doesn’t continue.  
You are fools if you imagine I´m actually coming back to the castle.  
To my family. And my captors.  
But.  
Where can I go? The mountain? I would die in half a day. I have no water nor weapons to hunt.  
I turn my path from the isolated yards of the palace to the heart of a crowd, walking across the main street of the city.  
As I expected  
And still, I can´t believe my eyes.  
I am surrounded by people. At last. It has been so long…  
And luckily, that’s probably why not a single civilian recognize me.  
A peasant girl.  
That’s me now.  
I can´t be more delighted.  
I disappear. With the officers now far away, moving thru parallel alleys, it is easy to sneak my way out.  
If I know my father, and I do, guards are waiting for me right now in at the frontiers. He probably has some troops leading north as well. They overestimate my survival skills.  
Or maybe, I overestimate my importance.  
The heir to the throne is missing, what a drama, it happens so often. Now, what was the upcoming ball celebration about?  
The greatest market in town is two steps away from me.  
That could fit. I think, feeling proud.  
I enter.  
“Good morning Miss!” an old woman yells at me, trying to overpass the customer’s noise.  
“Good, indeed” I hardly manage to smile. The race tired me up. I knew I wasn’t prepared for the outside.  
I am an idiot.  
“You seem down, my dear” she continues while I approach.  
Keep your distance from strangers.  
“It has been a long morning”.  
How a common sixteen-year-old is supposed to act?  
“What about new gowns? Kids can´t think of anything else this days, wouldn´t it make your day, a dress?”  
“It would be lovely” I smile “But I am not that wealthy”.  
I don´t have money.  
I didn´t…  
“Oh then” She responds, dryly. I am not surprised.  
I walk a few steps more, examining the residence. I´ve never being in a place such like this. My mother used to make me walk with her every other day in my childhood years, though. She wanted civilians to see us as any other family. It was not her brightest idea, of course.  
A normal family, with blue blood.  
Now, kneel.  
_“Smile now, dear,” s_ he said once _“They want to see you happy.”_  
 _“Why?”_ I replied _._  
 _“Because then, they will be happy as well.”_  
 _“That is senseless, mother.”_  
 _“The people” she replied seriously “wants to perceive us as a powerful guidance, let´s give them the right.”_  
 _“The people wants to perceive us as humans.”_  
 _“But tell me, how would they respect you then?”_  
 _“Because of my decisions.”_  
She laughed. Hard.  
My eyes perceive two civilians making their way in my direction. I turn. Another man, waiting in the street. Three behind me. I can hear them. It´s illogical that I could possibly perceive so many people at once, but...  
“Actually” My tongue speaks by itself, I´m pretty busy worrying to even care. The saleswoman stares at me with reloaded hope. I stare back. Her almost completely white hair is braided into her right shoulder.  
“Yes, child?”  
“That new dress sounds like a brilliant idea. I am travelling south, to faraway lands, furthest than the North Mountain for what I know. I will need equipment.”  
She doesn’t really care.  
“Suite yourself then” She replies, taking me by the shoulders and driving me into another room, more privet than the others. There are a few dresses hanged in a humble counter and two trunks a little far away where two ladies my age are having an argument.  
“I´ll leave you alone, dear.”  
“Thank you so much.”  
Getting out of here is going to be a challenge.  
I pick up a commoner gown.  
My mother would faint, but I am really enjoying this.  
“The pink ones are better” the sharp voice of one of the ladies startles me. She is holding a pair of gloves in the air.  
“Are you out of your mind? The purple ones are beautiful” the other one argues, exasperated.  
Don’t talk about gloves.  
Don´t-  
“Here, try mine” I take out my own gloves, hands shaking awkwardly.  
_What am I doing?_  
 _What am I doing?_  
What in the name of God, am I thinking?  
“Really?” She looks at me with surprise. I would also be surprised.  
But I don´t know what else to do.  
I hand them over to her.  
Something inside me breaks. I feel exposed.  
Am I free now?  
“Yes, they will look lovely in you” I lie “I am not that pretty.”  
“Thank you” she smiles “These ones are extraordinary.”  
Go on.  
Try them.  
Both girls are physically similar. Freckles all over their nose. Brown hair braided in their back.  
They almost look… familiar.  
Anna  
I eliminate the idea from my mind.  
“I am in love with the gloves” One of the ladies drag me out of my thoughts “Don´t I look beautiful?”  
“You are” the other one agrees “My sister has an incredible lack of confidence” she communicates to me. I take off my royal pajama, already with the need to go away.  
The commoner dress is bigger than what I thought. I leave the inner corset on the floor. No way I´m wearing it.  
“We are going to a ball” the other one continues.  
Oh.  
“One of the princess in celebrating her fourteen birthday,” she says, “She will introduce herself to society, and if we listen to the bad tongues, she will also choose a fiancée.”  
I try to react my best.  
“And so, as logic dictates, there will be plenty of handsome man with a fortune.”  
“We must look our best” the other one concludes. “You had any idea of this?”  
“Balls are not really my thing” I reply, feeling extremely anxious.  
Oh no.  
“Oh”  
And I go.  
I have no time for this. I can´t lose control right now.  
I ran through the crowd, straight to the door. One hand grabs my arm. I yell, heart beating in my chest. Somehow, he let go.  
Freedom.  
I run so fast I can´t control my feet. And suddenly, there is only ice.  
There is no street. No people. No gloves. There is just me. And I feel so cold.  
Gravity is pulling me down.  
Run  
Go away  
My head is spinning. I want to throw up.  
But I can´t.  
I need to keep going.  
I need to escape.  
There is no escape. You idiot. You monster.  
Go away.  
My chest is on fire. It hurts. I have tears in my face. I am so cold.  
Suddenly, my eyes are able to see an alley. It´s dark. But I have no choice.  
Run.  
It is only dark.  
***  
_This is the day._  
 _This is the day to prove myself._  
 _I´m going abroad._  
 _My mother watches me picking up my hair in a bun. This is a test. She thinks I am not aware. Again, she is wrong._  
 _“It is still messy” she smiles “Tight it more.”_  
 _“Yes mother” My reflection stares back with the same disappointment. I thought it was going well._  
 _“Almost excellent for a five years old” Is that supposed to be a compliment._  
 _“What am I missing?”_  
 _She laughs._  
 _“Not the right answer.”_  
 _“I want to know.”_  
 _She stands up, but she doesn’t come closer._  
 _“You will remember, my darling” Is she changing the subject? “To demand respect.”_  
 _Yes, she is._  
 _“I will” I walk a few steps, trying to erase our distance “Have I ever being a disappointment?”_  
 _Her silence is not even surprising._  
 _“Wrong answer.”_  
 _“I am sorry” I respond, now irritated. I try my best to stay at ease “I know how to behave…and how to control myself.”_  
 _“Let me see your gloves-“_  
 _I show her my hands before she can continue._  
 _Conceal._  
 _“The place where you are going is not as warm as home” she starts._  
 _“Berk, I know.”_  
 _“You do?”_  
 _“I do.”_  
 _“Wrong answer.”_  
***  
I need to breathe.  
I need air.  
I don´t know how many time I spend in the dark, but when I´m back, the sun is up in the sky and I need water.  
I extract a bended piece of paper from my breast. My naked hands try their best to unfold it.  
It’s a map. I drew it between every possible break my classes could provide. It has most of the streets and towns of this reign.  
My finger traces an invisible line from the street named bue og suerd and my alley: Trajet roi.  
The path is almost straight.  
I embrace myself. Not because I´m cold, of course, but because I´m scared.  
I am really scared.  
I bent the paper again, now keeping it in one of the dress´ pockets. It´s incredible how useless the fancy clothes can become.  
My lips smile without authorization. And I should admit that not concealing taste good.  
“Excuse me, beautiful lady, are you lost?”  
A man grabs my arm. I bite my inferior lip. They found me.  
Why was I so slow?  
But no, after a closer look, this man has as much as an officer than I as a carpet.  
“I am not, thank you” I answer, with sudden relief. But still, I don’t trust him.  
I don’t trust anyone right now.  
I never did.  
“Darling, how can I help you?”  
I need to go away.  
I try to walk straight to the main street, or somewhere lighter than Trajet roi, which I assume, is every other place in existence.  
He doesn’t let go.  
“Excuse me” My voice is dry, but I am about to scream. I pull my arm away. But I know I have no chance against him in an act of physical strength.  
“Excuse you?” He, on the other side, pulls me until I am at his side. He stinks. Alcohol. It´s so obvious. I am the brightest dumbest person alive.  
“Get off,” I say, already shaken.  
“Let me help you” he whispers right into my ear.  
“Go away!” I yell. Shoving him with both hands. A burst of air hits me in the chest, the sudden pain forces me to move back, broadening the distance between us.  
He falls, holding his chest while trembling.  
“Cold” he mumbles, staring at me.  
And run.  
I am a monster  
_I am a monster_  
 _I am a monster_  
Go away


	3. Completely Ordinary

_SOME TIME AGO_

_"I´m coming with you” Anna´s voice catch my ear from the other side of the hallway. She walks as fast as her little four years old legs could allow her to._  
 _“You are not” I answer, with a smile. She giggles, surely believing it is a joke._  
 _“I am. I am old enough!”_  
 _“No, you are not. You are barely a child.”_  
 _“Is it because you are magic?” She asks, eyes shining with emotion. I can´t help but smile._  
 _“Oh no, Anna, you are magical too!” I reply._  
 _“But you are magic.”_  
 _“I am completely ordinary” I try not to sound extremely sarcastic. I don´t want her to have any complexes about my…strange nature. She is the only one that loves me for who I am._  
 _And I don’t want that to change._  
 _I touch her nose with one bare finger, leaving a single snowflake._  
 _“MAGIC!” She sneezes. I laugh._  
 _“Don´t be silly, sister, Jack Frost is nipping at your nose” It´s my answer._  
 _“Who´s that?”_  
 _I reflect what my answer must be._  
 _“It is complicated, you wouldn’t understand” I joke._  
***  
_Bue og suerd_ leads straight to the lower forest of Arendelle.  
I must find my way inside it.  
And I need a new plan.  
***  
“Find her!” my father yells waking me up. I am not used to that much movement in the castle. In fact, my days as a princess are only interesting because I make them. “Find my heir to the throne or I´ll have you all in prison.”  
What the…?  
Elsa…  
I stand up from my bed, falling to the floor like a complete loser.  
“Crap” I howl, angrily, while recovering my balance. My feet walk, mostly by themselves, thru my isolated empty bedchamber.  
“Where is she?” I scream, opening the door sharply.  
I run across the hallways, down the spiral stairs, up to the main hall. My mother is there. She holds me by the arms because I swear I can hit everyone in this palace until they tell me what in the name of God is going on.  
“She is gone” Mother answers.  
I know she is gone woman, Father was yelling the hell out of him upstairs!  
“She is gone” she repeats, mostly talking to herself. She moves away from me, disappearing on one of the corridors.  
I feel alone. More alone than ever.


	4. Ballroom dress

I am starving.  
Tired and hungry.  
I am a woman walking in the woods. At night. Unarmed.  
Tired.  
Unarmed.  
Hungry.  
This is not quite me, I assure you.  
What an idiotic, idiotic idea this was. And now I can´t come back.  
I spent ten precious years of my life planning this moment. Ten years. I learned how to draw maps, the location of every single constellation in the sky, the position of the sun during the day and the phases of the moon in every month.  
For what?  
_Nothing?_  
The clumsiness of my scape was unpardonable. Of course, the announcement of Anna´s ball celebration obliged me to speed up my planning. I had to leave, for her own safety.... and for mine.  
I stop in a clearing, extracting my map. The subtle glimmer of moonlight allows me to interpret it. I must keep moving south. And maybe then, I could find people.  
When I was younger, I overheard my father talking in a privet conference about a set of villages dwelling the outsiders of the kingdom. The people who lived in there where traders in their majority, and so, nomads.  
For decades, its existence was only a superstition, mostly because not even The King and his fellowship nobleman were able to trace them. Until one day, I decided to try myself.  
It was not easy, but I already had plenty of time alone in my chambers, so a reason to be busy was a delightful idea, if you ask me.  
I just needed to keep moving south.  
I continue my trip, ignoring the constant pain my body punish me with. It is begging for a rest. The adrenalin I that kept it working in the early hours is almost over, leading to exhaustion.  
The only fuel my body has is my own desperation. My anxiety to get out of this kingdom.  
To run away from my problems.  
Anna´s ball party was announced months before the summer started. And she was so pleased, dancing thru the corridors, singing about finally meeting people and being free. I saw her once, in my way from a lonely but pleasant time in the library.  
She was wearing what might be her ballroom dress, dancing in circles around the main hall. I barely stopped to look at her, and I am sure she didn’t saw me at all. She hasn’t seen me for a long time, I would be surprised if she still wants to. She probably hates me, anyways.  
I abandoned her.  
_You let her behind._  
_You are an idiot._  
_Go away._  
And I stop, breathing heavily, with my heart trying to scape my chest.  
Someone is following me.


	5. To demand respect

_My father is always busy._  
_Even today, I found him signing documents in the middle of a conference. Today. A few hours before our parliamentary trip to Sweden._  
_I don´t know how to feel respect for him if he always disappoints me._  
_He has no time for you. No-one has. Deal with it._  
_I walk across the harbor, escorted by a few servants and nurses. I don´t need any, but the King insisted. Sometimes I think he is afraid._  
_Afraid of me._  
_Of what I can do._  
_But again, aren´t all afraid?_  
_Am I not?_  
_Of course, I am._  
_My head is spinning the moment I put a foot on the ship. I am finally going out of this Kingdom._  
_I am ready._  
***  
The steps are approaching.  
I´m frozen to the ground. My feet are not responding.  
Not even my own desperation is enough. I have no energy left. I try my best to stay awake.  
For a moment, the idea of the guards finding me is not that horrible. Maybe is the best option, if you really think so. I can say sorry and everything will be well. I would attend to Anna´s ball and she will forgive me. And if I try my best, one day my father will be convinced of my abilities as a Queen.  
I would wear the gloves again. And I would act like nothing of this ever happened. I could go back to my chambers, to my books, to the proper food and the uncomfortable gowns.  
I can learn how to not me afraid of every single civilian that stares at me. And someday, maybe, I would even go to church, without trembling at the idea of them taking me away.  
If I can hide it.... I can try.  
I am not making any sense.  
They will find out.  
They will take me away.  
They will never understand. The King already had plenty of trouble when his court didn´t gloss over the absence of the royal family in the middle of the night, eight years ago…  
“This is mental” a voice in the woods made me come back to reality. Sadly. I don´t like my status or reality right now…  
I try to hide behind the undergrowth. A poor idea, if you ask me, but I don´t really know what I am doing.  
I just want to sleep.  
“Shut up” another voice, now deeper, answers.  
Two males, both tall and blonde, appear a few meters away. Not officers, Ice harvesters, for the way they dress.  
“What? I´m hatting this as much as you are.”  
“Are you?”  
“Is not our fault that we have nothing else to do, all the positions in the North Mountain are already occupied, and it´s not my fault that it is the only bloody mountain with ice to undermine?” the man hits a tree, with fury. A lame decision, really, now he hurt his hand. He curses to the sky.  
“Aage wants us to search the entire forest” the other one continues, after laughing at his partner “We need to keep moving.”  
I thank God.  
“We ain´t going to find anything, you know that?”  
“So what?”  
“Let´s go back.”  
“No.”  
I start to crawl back, careful of not making any noise. My arms can barely move now. I need to think.  
“The king is a douche, you know that?” One of them yells, angrily. His partner and I stare at him in horror.  
“What did you just-?”  
He is going to lose his head. I need to go. I must leave, now.  
“Stop trying to care. His army is so inept he has to put a public reward for his own daughter.”  
I keep crawling, now faster.  
“Stop trying to understand what it is to lose a child.”  
“Yours was eight years old, mate. Get over it.”  
“We need to go.”  
“Why? Are you afraid somebody will-?”  
An arrow travels thru the air, perforating his throat. He falls to the grown, his face is filled with perplexity. The other man runs away. Two officers, hidden behind a dangerously close tree, run after him. He is not going far.  
I try not to scream in panic. Somehow, the experience of an arrow drilling somebody else trachea is enough to refill my energy levels. I crawl the faster I can, ignoring the number of branches and rocks embedding in my calves, under the commoner dress.  
I don´t stop until I consider myself at a secure distance. I stand up, not caring at all about an open wound I wisely did to my left leg while escaping. I don´t want to think about it. I don´t even remember where South was.  
I am lost.  
In the middle of the woods. The foliage impedes me to look at the sky or to read my map… if I still have it.  
I am lost.  
***  
“ _After our arrival, we must go west,” my father said, looking straight at my eyes. I nod, trying not to smile. The trip is almost over. A few days more or less and I will be in the new land._  
_“I understand, my King.”_  
_“Berk is not similar to Arendelle, Elsa, you must understand.”_  
_I do._  
_“The people you will find has a different perspective on life, for order and for justice. We must appreciate that, as part of the royal family, is our duty.”_  
_“What are you trying to say?”_  
_Are you asking me to stay away?_  
_“There are no kingdoms. No King”_  
_“Chiefs”_  
_“Exactly, and the ones we are going to me are not exactly kind.”_  
_I smile._

_***_

And suddenly I wake up, with confusion. The sun is filtering in leaves of the trees, making the forest look a little bit less dangerous…if that is possible.

I saw a man get killed.

By the hand of an officer.

After he had expressed what I have had in my mind since the moment my parents decided to take my right to the throne away.

_The King is a douche._

I saw an arrow from our army, attacking our people. My people. The ones I am never going to rule.

_But tell me, how would they respect you then?_

I try to undo the growing know in my stomach that´s making me feel dizzy. Dizzy and miserable.

Guilty.

My wounded leg is finally hurting, impeding me to continue my trip with the usual velocity. It´s nothing to worry about, but still, the pain is a little bit too much.

_I am not used to this. That´s all._

The conclusion of me dying in the middle of the woods as a lonely soul it´s slowly turning into the most rational one. Even if I find water and food, which, with my conditions, is barely possible, I will not be able to reach the villages in time. Not with only one foot and a half available.

I bow, reaching the grass. It´s not completely dry. I can follow it and maybe, with luck, I could find a river or a lake. There must be one, considering that Arendelle´s summer it´s warmer than most of the near kingdoms…exempt maybe, Corona: The land of the always present sun.

The heat is not helping me either. If you doubt it.

_Maybe, if I…_

No, I am not doing it. Not when there are guards spying over the trees. I don´t really understand why they hadn´t found me already. Yesterday they were literally above me, and instead, they shoot the poor ice harvester. It´s almost like if they are allowing me to scape… Maybe I am not even that important to the Kingdom anymore, probably they consider Anna as a much better and ordinary Queen.

At least for my parents, I am just the isolated sixteen year old princess who wasn´t able to find a husband.

And suddenly I realize my mistake. It hits me like a bucket of water.

They know what I am.


	6. No Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you! The beautiful, beautiful person who´s reading this!  
> First of all, I feel like I need to thank you for reading my story, so... thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :)  
> Now to the bad news....  
> I am still in school! Yeaahhh..... (kill me)  
> So if I don´t upload a chapter in a while is probably because I´m drawning in the interminable sea of homework, projects and grumpy teachers...  
> Anyways, I´ll try to be frequent with my uploads, and again, Thank you so much for reading!!

_I am no witch._  
That is the first thing that came into my mind every time my eyes opened, after a short night rest.  
_I am no witch._  
I used to say it over and over again, when I walked thru the halls, when I met my Mother and Father for dinner, when I received my classes in the library, when I watched my single servant, preparing my chambers…  
Today, I didn’t think about it.


	7. Please Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I was doing research and I found out that Normandy wasn´t the best place to locate Berk, first of all because it doesn´t really makes sense but I was too slow to realise it on time....(sorry about that) and secondly because it´s easy for me if the places where the story develops are close to each other. So yeah...I decided to work with Sweden instead. :)  
> Again, thanks for reading!

It´s almost mid-day. My head is spinning so fast is making me dizzy. I am going to end up crazy, if not dead.  
I have always used loneliness, so I never thought it would mean an actual problem. But it is.  
I need to stop talking to myself.  
My leg is getting critical, something almost impossible when the actual wound is insignificant.  
The feeling of impotence grows with every second.  
_I have magic._  
 _I have magic._  
 _Why don´t I use it?_  
 _Why am I so afraid?_  
 _What did I commit to deserve that much fear?_  
 _Wasn´t I just trying to make Anna happy?_  
 _Why Father? Why did you give me the gloves?_  
 _Am I really a monster Father? Am I really cursed? Why am I born like this? Would you let them have me burn at the stake as every other poor soul they have chased?_  
 _I don´t want to conceal anymore._  
 _Father, Mother. I didn´t want to hurt Anna! It wasn´t my fault! It was an accident…_  
 _I can´t conceal._  
 _I don´t want to be locked again._  
 _I don´t want to die. I want to live._  
 _Please, God. Please. I´ve prayed so much. I don´t want to go to Hell. I am no witch. I don´t want to be hanged. I don´t want to die. I don’t want to be taken away. I want to be ordinary. I can renounce my crown. I can relinquish my rights as part of the royal family._  
 _Please._  
 _Please, Father…_  
***  
I don´t understand.  
My brain has probably melted.  
I see nothing. I hear nothing.  
I forgot how to breathe.  
I am drowning.  
I am drowning.  
***  
A whiff of air liberates the pressure in my chest. I involuntarily begin to cough, to fill my lungs with oxygen.  
I am confused.  
Where am I?  
I keep breathing heavily for a while until I decide that my head is not in danger of exploding into tiny little pieces.  
“Thank God you are not dead” a faraway voice attracts my attention. I turn around, cursing my eyes for their sudden blindness. I want to throw up, but my stomach is unconventionally empty.  
Gravity pulls me again to the floor. I am too shocked to react. I just want to sleep.  
Who woke me up?  
“I don´t think I´m able to handle seeing more than one death per day” the voice continues, I can barely understand what it says.  
“Water” My mouth speaks by itself. My own voice sounds distance and unfamiliar right now “Water.”  
And the voice gives me water. Every single part of my body cheers in victory. I drink richly until the urge of vomiting the last bit of food I have started taking my glory away.  
I am getting sick.  
“You need to rest.”  
No, I don´t need to rest, I need to keep moving south.  
I am already late.  
I´ll lose track of them.  
The villagers...the-they are moving south.  
“Let´s find somewhere safer. With no sun.”  
“I-I”  
“Don’t need to thank me, kid.”  
“Please”  
“All right, you´re welcome. We need to keep moving.”  
***  
_“Land!”_  
 _“Land!”_  
 _The King raise his head from a bunch of scrolls and overused books. I stare at his face, in silence. He had me call this morning to his chambers for no apparent reason but to spent time together. I was nothing but disappointed when I found out that his idea of an obligatory meeting between father-daughter was having me sit in a corner, watching him sing papers while he gave me a meaningless monologue about what power and royalty realty mean._  
 _None of us moved a muscle until somebody knocked my Father´s door._  
 _“My King, we have arrived.”_  
 _The monarch barely react. He catches my eyes on his back. I don´t hesitate when he stares back._  
 _And then, from nowhere, I see it. His upper lip moves an exact inch up. He is smirking._  
 _And I smile back._  
 _“Our time has come” he announces “To prove how well we can handle those Vikings.”_  
 _He stands up and we both go out of the cabin. The cold air hits my face by surprise, making it hard to maintain my composure._  
 _I feel free._  
 _More free than ever._  
 _And then I see it. A land covered in mountains and snow. So white. So cold._  
 _Sweden._


	8. Gerda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I´m back!

_Please let me die._

_Please let me die._

_Please let me die._

I find myself in the interior of a sled. I can´t remember why. I can´t remember anything.

But I need to keep moving.

I stand up, forcing my body to walk away, deep into the trees. I fall down a couple of times before making it.

South.

I need to keep moving south.

I need to find the villages.

Before anyone finds me.

I had everything planned. I spent years locked away, reading navigation books, maps…But I wasn’t able to survive the first day.

_That helps my moral._

My feet stumble with a lower branch, allowing some branches to rip up part of my dress. I don´t care anymore.

I just need to keep moving.

“Where do you think you´re going?” a male voice gets me by surprise. “Is that how you thank me for saving your life?”

I don´t turn back.

My hair gets stuck with a twig. I pull with no consideration.

“Woah, kid, stop it” the man exclaims “Are you eager of getting yourself killed?

I can hear his steps, chasing mine. The wound in my leg is wide open now. I feel my own blood falling off my leg, staining the dry leaves on the floor.

_The wound was insignificant…_

“For the love of God, lady, calm down.”

The mere feel of his hand grabbing my arm burns my skin. I yell, tears rolling through my cheeks, with a last effort of pushing him back.

“Please,” I stutter.

I recognize him. He´s the harvester who´s friend got killed by the royal army. He is here to capture me. I won´t let him. I won´t let him. I won´t let him.

_I am no witch._

_I am no witch._

I take a deep breathe, in an attempt of slowing my heart beatings.

“Please…please let me go” I sob, still trying to get rid of his holding. “I beg you.”

“Are you crazy? You won´t survive out there.”

I look at his face, filled with confusion.

“Hey, kid. I have no intention of hurting you” The man mutters.

“I don´t trust you.”

“Of course, you don´t.” The man rolls his brown eyes with irritation. “But I already saved your life once, remember? Let me help you”.

I swallow, already feeling exhausted. He dries the sweat of his foreheat with his sleeve, the confusion and sudden desperation in his face moves me.

I stop pulling my arm, allowing him to release me.

“No”

And I run away, cursing the raising pain in my leg. I am not fast enough. I can´t see the sky, and therefore, I won´t be able to find south. But I need to find them. The king is not smart enough, I´m sure I can still distract him for a little while. He won´t be able to lock me away again, that´s not happening. He will never make me wear those gloves again. Now I´m free.

“I give you a chance, kid. You are not going to survive out there, for goodness sake” The man screams at my back. “Take it!”

I don´t want to stop.

_Why am I stopping?_

I face him, now from far away.

“Speak your mind.”

***

_“Why can´t I come with you?” I ask my father. He doesn’t bother to respond. “I read your letters, my king, we won´t go back home for a year. Why do I need to stay in Berk?”_

_The man ignores me. It seems like he´s not even making an effort. In another circumstance, that would have made me sad. And when your five years old child it´s depressed you should really reconsider your job as a parent._

_“Are you not visiting every kingdom in this realm? Please, Father, let me see the world”._

_***_

 “What´s your name kid?”

I stare into the eyes of the man, probably a decade older than me. He stares back.

“You have a name, right?”

“Gerda”

“Only Gerda?”

I nod, suddenly finding the sewing of my dress extremely interesting.

I wonder why I am still alive.

“And what are you doing alone in the woods, Gerda?” he continues.

_Why am I still alive?_

“I was looking for brushwood” I babble “I got lost. Had no water.”

“Seems like fun” he smiles sarcastically. “What? Were you following a deer or something?”

“It was fawn. It had an arrow in his leg. I wanted to pull it off”.

“And you got lost.”

“Now it seems foolish,” I say, breathing heavily.

_Why am I not dead yet?_

“So…no parents” the man continues “Am I right?”

“I am sorry, but it is really not your business.”

“Right”

The man stops digging into the bag of supplies he had tied to the back part of his sled.

“Doesn’t sleds need reindeers?” I ask “The sled.”

“Long story, and guess what? I don´t trust you” He answers, sarcastically, while approaching with surprisingly clean bandages.

“How do I know this is not a trap?” I continue, with real fear dancing in my stomach.

“You don't.”

Of course, I don´t.     

“Now stay still, I´m going to clean the wound. It´ll probably hurt, kid”.

“No” I interrupt “Let me do it.”

I grab his canteen, now partially empty, from the bag of supplies. He does not speak a thing. Something estranges when a stranger rummages among your possessions.

_Don´t low your guard. Don´t trust him, Elsa, he wants the reward that your head holds._

I try to wash the dried blood and dirt from my skin until being able to distinguish a deep cut on one side of my shin.

I don´t have any idea of how I managed to do that to my leg.

I bite my lip, impeding the renovated tears in my eyes from coming out. The man is barely paying attention at my suffering. Good, it´s nice to know he doesn’t care.

After two minutes of never ending agony, I start drying the wound, applying pressure to my leg with a pair of bandages. It works. I use another one to bind up my shinbone. I allow myself to sigh in relief after I finish.

“Impressive, Gerda” The other one says “I was beginning to thought you were more than useless.”

“It was a fawn and it had an arrow incrusted in his leg.”

He laughs.

“You better keep the wound dry.”

“For five or more days. I know” I reply, more tired than ever. “Thank you” I smile, and I mean it.

The man smiles back, awkwardly.

“Now you are stuck with me for a week more, Gerda. You shouldn’t be thankful.”

No, I´m not.

He is going to send me back to the castle.

He is no one to trust.

“But I am” I lie “What is your name?”

“Why should I tell you?”

_Because if you dare to take me back to my father, which is exactly what you will do, then I will know who to blame when I find myself consumed by the flames of the fire_.

“Because you value trust, don´t you?”

“I don´t, actually.”

“Well, I do.”

I smile, trying my best not to look like an extremely poor liar.

“I´m called Ásbjörn.”

***

_Embla, one of the nannies who embarked with us, takes me away from the king._

_“You need to prepare yourself, my lady” she announces, holding my shoulder with soft hands. With only a few years ahead myself, she was assigned to take care of me a year ago, after the Queen realized that having me with children my age was impossible._

_“I am about to climb a mountain, Embla” I speak “I don’t think that is necessary.”_

_She smiles, I can barely identify a bit of sadness hidden somewhere in her face._

_We arrive at my chambers a few moments later. She opens the door, allowing me to go in._

_“So, is it you?” I ask, with curiosity._

_“I beg your pardon, your highness?”_

_“I know the King, Embla, he will command one of you to stay at my side until the end of the year.”_

_She holds my hair with a simple braid. Mother would disapprove. I am pleased._

_“Well, if what you say is the truth, then I had no idea, your majesty.”_

_“Of course, you did” I correct her. She doesn’t change my mind._

_“Embla?” I ask, after a long uncomfortable silence “Is there something you are not telling me?”_

_She swallows._

_“Of course not, your highness.”_


End file.
